MedaPhor ScanTrainer

The Challenge

The cost effective components designed and built by GX for an advanced ultrasound training aid, the ScanTrainer™, developed and marketed by MedaPhor, has helped the product become a global success.

This ground-breaking medical training device uses advanced haptic sensations to teach doctors and sonographers vital obstetric ultrasound scanning skills, without the need of a patient and with minimal expert supervision. Following the success of the original model, MedaPhor wanted to expand the training capabilities by incorporating trans abdominal training, alongside transvaginal.

The Solution

Since the design team at GX had already invested time and energy incorporating advanced haptic technology into the main unit, their new challenge focused on seeking ways to be able to quickly convert the training device.

Their solution was to re-engineer the base of the unit so that it was larger and more stable to accommodate both training methods. They were particularly keen to incorporate an armrest to stop trainees suffering from fatigue whilst undertaking trans abdominal training. The arm has additional features, including adjustable height and rotation to allow for freedom of movement.

The design team at GX also considered ease of use, so that the training device could be quickly converted. They designed the rotational armrest with just one clamp, so it can be easily removed from the base. By incorporating abdominal ultrasound training, the design team engineered two probes for the different scanning purposes. Both probes were designed with an internal electrical connector so that the Haptic function would recognise whether the trainee was practicing trans abdominal, as opposed to transvaginal.

The Result

The first ScanTrainer unit designed and built by GX went into production in 2014. A study by Copenhagen University Hospital in April 2014 concluded that using the ScanTrainer™ had greatly accelerated ultrasound scanning skills. Since 2014, Medaphor has been exporting the product worldwide, and were even awarded the UK Healthcare Business Export Achievement Award in 2016. Based on these latest upgrades to the product the company has already received their first orders.